Dragon Rider 2: The Return of Nettlebrand
by DrBlowhole1
Summary: Nettlebrand was turned back into his original form: a toad. Well, here is Chowl, Nettlebrand's original self with these Amphibianites. When a mysterious raven begins to stalk him for information on his master's death, he begins to remember his own past.
1. Prologue

**Dragon Rider 2: The Return of Nettlebrand**

**by: Malefor**

**Prologue**

It had been five weeks since Firedrake and his friends had defeated Nettlebrand and brought all of the dragons from Ireland back to the Rim of Heaven. They thought that everything would be fine now. Soon Firedrake would be visiting Ben, the dragon rider, and after that, the Greenblooms would be leaving for their search for Pegasus.

The fight with Nettlebrand had been intense for Firedrake and Maia, but luckily they had managed to save Twigleg, the homunculus that had once served the Golden One, and melt Nettlebrand's golden armor with dragon fire. Thus doing so, Nettlebrand had been turned back into his original form before he was enchanted: a toad. However, this toad was let free from the dragons for they didn't think that it would harm anything.

This very toad was lying in a bush deep within the Himalayan mountains with no memory of his evil past. Now this toad was living the life of a normal amphibian, but he was alone. Very, very alone. In fact he began to feel extremely lonely. Being a toad and all, there wasn't much to do. The toad could have sworn he had felt very bored in the past, but he wasn't sure. What had happened back then?

A nearby raven began to squawk in the trees, searching for prey. If this bird saw him, he was toast! The toad slowly and quietly tried to hop away into the forest.

The raven squawked again and turned its head towards the toad. It cawed and dove at him, angrily pecking at the ground. This bird was very fast on the ground!

"Ribbit!" went the toad as he tried to escape the bird's clutches. He was dead for sure, and he knew it! Well, at least he wasn't being killed by a human and being put in a French restaurant.

The raven dove at the toad as it jumped behind a tree. The bird drove its beak into the tree, eager to kill the toad. However, it soon got its beak stuck in the tree's bark.

Now was the toad's chance: Run away or be killed. The toad hopped away towards a rabbit hole; maybe he could find shelter there. The hole was just a few inches away when the bird came back and blocked the hole.

The toad gulped and hopped over to a rock. When was this bird going to let him live? If only there was a mountain lion or some other creature that could stop this bird...

The raven stabbed its beak at the toad once again a squawked even louder. This toad was becoming very frustrating to the flying creature. Maybe it should just go find some other prey. No, this was worth the catch.

The toad leaped behind the rock and back towards the hole, trying to confuse the bird; however, the bird was too smart for that. It dove again, determined to make the kill, when the toad stopped. The raven dove right over the toad, missing it and landing its beak deep within the rabbit hole. It tried to yank its way free, but it was stuck real good.

The toad hopped away into the forest and disappeared among the large bushes. It breathed hard and settled down in a thicket. That was a very close near death situation, and he hoped it wouldn't happen again. The toad kicked back and fell asleep in the thicket hoping for a better more intense life.

A loud rustling in the thicket echoed throughout the area. The toad snapped awake and looked out at the noisy bushes producing the annoying sound. He gasped, what if was the raven again? He couldn't take any chances, but he had to know. He shouldn't just assume that every noise in the forest was an evil predator.

The toad lazily stood up and hopped out of his hiding spot to see what was going on. Several bushes were rattling as more and more suspicious creatures entered the perimeter. It sounded like a raven, but maybe it wasn't. He continued to look on to find out.

Suddenly, the bushes stopped rattling and the creatures approached the toad. He was completely petrified, so he closed his eyes. What ever these things were, they were pretty scary.

Then one of the creatures spoke, "Hey, guys! Look who I found! By golly, it's Cousin Garthin!"

What? Who was Garthin? The toad opened his eyes to ask when he gasped in shock. These creatures weren't the raven, a mountain lion, or any other predator. This group consisted of toads and frogs.


	2. Chapter 1 A Pack of Amphibianites

**Chapter 1: A Pack of Amphibianites  
><strong>

**by: Malefor  
><strong>

The toad breathed hard. This couldn't be happening. These frogs must have mistaken him for someone else. He couldn't have been called Cousin Garthin, but now that he thought of it, he didn't know what his name was. The toad finally spoke, "Excuse me? Who are you?"

The lead frog cracked up laughing and slapped his thigh humorously. He continued to chuckle for thirty seconds and finally stopped. He wiped the grin off of his face and replied, "Who are we? We are your cousins, your family! We're the Amphibianites, protectors of smaller creatures! How can you forget your own family, Garthin?"

The toad took a second to let all of this in, "Well, I've lost my memory. How can you be sure I'm your cousin? Is my name Garthin?" He looked at the amphibians for an answer.

"Of course you are our cousin, or my name isn't Pharlin Gup Tarnis!" said the frog, "You_ are_ Chowl Heartsin Garthin! Ain't no way I got that one wrong! Your parents were always good at naming their children!"

"So my name is Chowl? What kind of name is that?" asked the toad, "Who are my parents anyways?"

"Mrs. Garthin and Mr. Garthin were killed about eight hundred years ago. Some say that they saw them being eaten by this humongous Golden Beast with a human at his side," the frog took off his leaf hat in salute to their deaths, "As for your name, it is an awesome name for an Amphibianite like you! It's a tough name meaning 'all shalt serve before thou' and is a mix between chow and howl. Say my dear cousin, what happened to ya? You disappeared around the same time your parents... you know."

"I told you, I lost my memory. Five weeks ago, I found myself in this beautiful valley outside this cave. That's all I remember, but I saw two silver creatures flying away with a human boy and two fuzzy creatures on their backs. That is all," explained Chowl. He would kill to know what happened back then.

"You speak o' dragons and brownies, do ye not?" asked an old, gray toad with spectacles. He was wrinkled and about five hundred years older than anyone else.

"Oh, Great Grand pappy Greenlegs, he has no memory," reminded Pharlin, "He probably doesn't know what dragons are..."

Dragons... how they seemed familiar. He could have sworn he had encountered several silver dragons a long time ago, "I think I know what dragons are." Chowl thought back. "I think I saw some a long time ago, but I'm not sure."

"Well, be glad that those dragons don't need to eat. They feed off of moonlight, I hear," explained Pharlin, "Anyways, we're going to have a feast for ye's returnin' back to the Amphibianites back at the River Flow. Follow us."

Chowl watched Pharlin and his companions march off into the forest and decided to follow this frog. He then remembered how the frog had said that they were around hundreds of years ago. He immediately asked, "Wait! You said that you guys have been around for hundreds of years. How is this possible?"

"Well, ye see, Chowl, there was this strange man who was studyin' us back when ye parents were still around and he experimented on all of us. He poured a strange liquid he called an elixir into the River Flow, and when we drank from it, we became almost immortal. Now we can all live for several centuries without dying!" explained Pharlin, "Now hurry. We understand that them ravens are searchin' for ye, and we don't want to cross paths with them."

Chowl stumbled over a rock and sighed, "How far is it?"

"Shhh!" whispered Pharlin, "We don't want them varmin gettin' us! Now come on and no questions!"

Chowl sighed again and continued to walk down the large path in front of them. Whoever that raven was, it seemed desperate to find him. Why did that raven seem familiar? After thinking long thoughts for a while, he shook his head free of them and decided to keep going with the Amphibianites and make a home with them.

After around fifth-teen minutes, the toads and frogs were now approaching a large river canal where a familiar monarchy arose on a high cliff. Signs of riverboats were in the water ranging from soda cans to valuable jewelry. He had hit the jack pot.

The Amphibianites continued down towards the river and stopped at the edge if it. Hidden inside a large hole was a camp of tents.

"The party will be in the Meeting Hall, the big tent over there," said Pharlin as he pointed over to a large tent, "Now let me show you your room." Pharlin led Chowl over to a small tent and opened it.

Chowl gasped as he saw everything in the tent. A large, toad-sized sword was against the wall, ready for action, a grassy bed with marvelous comfort was in the corner, and many writing utensils and other special things were awaiting him.

"This was where you used to live before you left. I'll leave you to your business. Be down at the Meeting Hall when your done!" said Pharlin as he exited the tent.

Chowl's first thing to do was spring onto the cozy bed and test its softness. He laughed happily and stood up to approach the wooden desk with marvelous carvings on it. On the desk was a huge piece of paper for drawing and writing; several ink pens were supplied. A large picture frame was on the wall displaying him and his parents (He frowned at this).

This room was absolutely fantastic! It had everything that he loved (He thought) and its service was fancy. This was the life he chose to live, and he liked it! He must have been enchanted like the others, so he would probably live in this marvelous room forever! All of the sorrow and wonder disappeared as Chowl leaped with joy.

A few minutes after he was done gazing at his excellent room, Chowl stood up and walked out of the room. He approached the large tent and entered it.

Immediately several toads and frogs greeted him and said things like 'Hey, Chowl! How you been?' or 'Where have you been, child?' Pharlin stood at a microphone on a stage after everyone took their seats.

"Attention, everyone! Our beloved Chowl has returned to us once more! This feast shall be in his honor! Begin eating!" said Pharlin as he stepped down and sat next to Chowl.

Chowl grinned as he looked at all of the food. Instead of just plain flies and bugs, the food had been prepared with extra tasty ingredients. A bug had several delicious flowers on it. Then Chowl took a bite; this was good! Chowl devoured the food with satisfaction the whole night.

"So, Chowl, how do you like it?" asked Pharlin.

"Like what?" asked Chowl who was stuffing his mouth with roasted flies.

"Everything!" laughed Pharlin.

"Oh, it's great!" exclaimed Chowl.

"Good, because we will be having a scouting mission tomorrow to go find people in need of rescue and I want you to come with us," said Pharlin.

"Sure," said Chowl.

"Are you sure? Those missions can get very intense," explained Pharlin, "Normally a new comer wouldn't want to fight on the first day on the job."

"I'm sure. I want some action," said Chowl. He nodded at Pharlin.

"Okay... I'll meet you tomorrow at seven o'clock at your tent," said Pharlin.

"Okay," said Chowl. He was starting to get tired and he needed to rest.

The party soon ended and everyone went home to go to sleep. It was two in the morning by the time Chowl had gotten to his tent. He lowered himself into his bed and closed his eyes. He soon fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 2 The Trouble With Cobras

**Chapter 2 The Trouble With Cobras**

**by: Malefor**

Chowl twisted and turned in the grassy bed when he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be meeting Pharlin at seven o' clock. He looked at side and saw that in was in the middle of the day. He had overslept.

Chowl panicked and began to rush around the room looking for what to take with him. He grabbed his large sword, which was golden by the way, and rushed out of his tent. Only a few people were still at home, most of them were on the rescue mission.

"Goin' somewhere, child?" asked Grandpa Greenlegs who had just came out of his tent to see what all the ruckus was. He looked at Chowl questioningly.

"Where did they go? Where's the rescue mission at? I want to go help," said Chowl who was breathing hard from running around the place.

"They've left over two hours ago, are you sure you want to go? They said that they found a large cobra or two trying to eat Mr. Whiskers the mouse down near the clearing on the other side of the River Flow," said Greenlegs.

"Yeah! See ya'!" cried Chowl as he rushed out of the camp and out towards the river. How would he get across? He looked around the place and noticed a large, wooden, toad-sized boat. He pushed it into the water and hopped on.

The boat sailed across the river. Chowl's nostrils breathed in something that smelled familiar. It smelt like a... monstrous creature the size of a warship had been in this river before. It must have been the golden creature that had killed his parents so long ago.

Chowl looked on past the river and saw a two cobras fighting off the Amphibianites. "Come on, come on!" cried Chowl as he tried to make the boat go faster, but it wouldn't. He looked at the Amphibianites who were getting clobbered by the cobras.

The boat floated closer to land as Chowl got ready to get off. The boat docked on the land and Chowl leaped off down the path, sword in hand. He charged towards down the path towards the cobra when Pharlin saw him coming.

"Go away, Chowl! You can't kill these things all on your own!" cried Pharlin.

"Oh, yes I can!" cried Chowl as he jumped at one of the cobras.

The cobra hissed and struck at the toad. The other cobra wrapped around the mouse on the opposite side of the clearing and carried it off. Half of the Amphibianites began to rush off after it, but a few remained to defeat this one, including Pharlin.

Pharlin threw a spear at the cobra and blocked its attack before Chowl was poisoned. "Get out of here!" he cried.

"No!" cried Chowl as he slashed his blade at the cobra's coiling neck. It hissed in agony as its neck was dented.

The cobra struck at Chowl again, but missed. It wrapped around Chowl so that he wouldn't be able to escape and struck again.

Chowl cried and wedged his sword in the snake's mouth. The snake hissed as it tried to break the sword, only piercing its mouth even more. Finally, the snake gave way and dropped its jaw to the ground, jabbing the sword straight through the top of its mouth. The sword stuck out of the snake.

Chowl grabbed the sword and uncoiled himself. Several Amphibianites ran up to Chowl and offered to heal him, but he refused.

Pharlin walked over to Chowl, "Cousin, you may have killed that cobra single-handed, but you could have been killed! You shouldn't try to take on a three star monster like that without training! Next time, stay back at camp."

"How 'bout I get training then?" asked Chowl, "Who teaches it anyways?"

Pharlin looked down to the ground and looked back at Chowl, "Grand pappy Greenlegs."

"Nu-uh! No! I am not getting training from _him_!" cried Chowl angrily.

"Amphibianite Policy requires it. Rule eighteen: All who seek to live with the Amphibianites must become an Amphibianite, so thou must seek training and learn all the arts of fighting, crafting, and other important acts!" said Pharlin ,"I'm sorry, but you have to have training, or I am forced to kick you out of camp."

"Fine!" growled Chowl, "I'll get training from Greenlegs!"

"Good. Training starts this afternoon at five o'clock. All training will be meeting within the Training Hall. Don't be late," said Pharlin, "Now go home; we need to go tackle that other cobra and save the mouse."

"Okay, then," replied Chowl stubbornly. He hopped back over to the River Flow and boarded the boat. He sailed across the river and docked at the entrance of the camp. He was just about to go inside when a creature pulled him back behind a bush.

"You!" cried Chowl. The creature was the raven from before.

"I have a score to settle with you, toad!" squawked the raven.

"Who are you anyways?" asked Chowl as he began to grab his blade.

The raven knocked the sword away with his claws, "Dart the Fighter! Why do you care?"

"Why are you after me?" growled Chowl in fright as he tried to reach his blade, but the raven stopped him.

"No reason. Five weeks ago, me and my comrades were summoned to the Rim of Heaven to block out the moon so that our master could kill the silver dragons!" squawked Dart.

"Wait! Who's your master?" asked Chowl.

"Nettlebrand the golden one, bless his death. Why?" growled Dart, a bit impatient.

"The _golden _one? Is he the one who killed my parents?" asked Chowl.

"How the heck should I know? Now it is your turn to die!" growled Dart as he struck his beak at Chowl.

"Wait!" cried Chowl; the bird stopped, "Can I make a deal with you?"

"What is it?" asked Dart.

"Well, I don't want to die. Maybe I could give you some information about your _goldness's _death? I could sneak away and find out what happened to him!" said Chowl.

"Fine, toad, but I will be watching you. If you don't give me what I want, then I _will _kill you no matter what you say!" squawked Dart.

"Thank you!" said Chowl.

Dart let go of Chowl, "Now leave me in peace!"

Chowl nodded, picked up his sword and walked into the camp. He gulped. There was no way he would be able to sneak away from the Amphibianites without being seen, and he didn't even really no who this Nettlebrand guy was. Why did that name sound familiar? Chowl's stomach growled. He approached the Meeting Hall to see if any food was there.

There was, so Chowl ate. After a couple of hours, he came out and asked someone, "What time is it?"

"Five," said the frog.

"Oh, shoot!" cried Chowl. He was late. He rushed off towards a large hidden cave inside the camp labeled **Training Hall **and walked inside for his first lesson of training.

Grandpa Greenlegs was waiting for him.


End file.
